There are also a variety of extra modes. The most captivating is an arcade game that blends the side-scrolling of the classic TMNT games with the combat system and graphics of the campaign--and this game allows couch co-op for up to four players. It's brutally difficult and fun with friends. There's also a Challenge mode in which you can face down wave after wave of enemies, and a dojo where you can practice your moves.

All of this makes Out of the Shadows a blast to play, but unfortunately, some technical mistakes can detract from the experience. I experienced a crash in my first five minutes with the game; though luckily, it was the only one. The camera can be terrible, some of the textures are bland, graphical glitching is common, and the default audio settings make the dialogue hard to hear over the grating techno music. Then again, maybe that last part is for the best, considering how bad the voice acting is (especially in the comic-book-style cutscenes) and the way the turtles and their enemies blurt out the same dialogue snippets over and over again.

One gets the impression that the developers didn’t quite hit their deadline. Just a little more work could have cleaned a lot of this up.

But in the grand scheme of things, these problems don't make this title unworthy. Out of the Shadows is no Game of the Year nominee, but it's a lot of fun to smack your way through the five-hour campaign and play the Arcade mode with friends. And for those of us old enough to remember the Turtles' original incarnation, it's a trip down memory lane, too.

ByRobert VerBruggen
Contributing Writer
Date: August 30, 2013

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.2

GraphicsThey’re realistic-looking, but some of the textures are bland and there are too many glitches.

3.5

ControlSome clunkiness stops this game from having the flow of the Batman Arkham games.

1.5

Music / Sound FX / Voice ActingThe dialogue is obnoxious and the music is grating.

3.8

Play ValueThe campaign is short, but there’s a bonus arcade game that fans will love.

3.2

Overall Rating - FairNot an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.